Nitrocellulose (NC) membranes are known to bind protein and polynucleotides of greater than 300 base pairs. (Transfer and Immobilization of Nucleic Acids to S & S Solid Supports, Schleicher & Schnell). Pure NC membranes have a binding capacity of approximately 80 .mu.g/cm.sup.2 for both polynucleotides and protein (Nitrocellulose Application Bulletin. Schleicher & Schnell, Inc., Keene, NH). These nitrocellulose membranes have often been coated with specific proteins and used as a solid support in a variety of immunoassays. Nitrocellulose has also been used as a solid support to immobilize single-stranded DNA; the immobilized DNA may then be detected utilizing the hybridization method. (E.M. Southern. J. Mol. Biol. 98. 503-517 (1975)). Nitrocellulose membranes have been used in the field of molecular biology to study the kinetics of the interaction between protein and DNA. Protein-nucleic acid complexes have been shown to adhere to NC filters at neutral pH, while any protein-free DNA passes through NC filters. (M. Yarus and P. Berg, J. Mol. Biol. 28, 481 (1967); and 42, 174 (1969); Oey & Knippers, J. Mol. Biol. 68 133 ( 1972).